Back in the Saddle Again
by SARXII
Summary: Spike is back after ten years. Edward has never stopped thinking about him, and her dreams have become more frequent over the last few months. She doesn't know what to do now that he's back, and he isn't sure how to handle her being all grown up. Ed/Spike
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This is my first Cowboy Bebop:) It's Ed/Spike, which is a coupling that I really like, though it may seem strange. Anything I write will be older Ed, though, I can promise you that:) Also, the name of the story is in referrence to the Aerosmith song Back in the Saddle:D

**Back In The Saddle Again**

**kagomes-wanna-be**

**Chapter One:  
Cowgirl**

It had taken her 2 days to get there, 4 days to find information, 3 and a half days to find out where the guy liked to hang out, and 5 days until he actually decided to hang out there. That was a total of 14 days. FOURTEEN DAYS. She was restless, and nearly bouncing off of her seat by the time he walked into the decrepit little room.

Her eyes flicked in his direction before casting back down to her drink. She sipped it and scanned around the room. Someone once told her that her eyes reminded them of a nervous cat, watching out for a dog.

But they were wrong.

She was the dog.

There was nothing for her to be nervous about, and nothing for her to be quiet or sneaky about like a cat. She was fast, loud, and liked to go for the hunt. No, cat would not be the word she used to describe herself.

He sat down at a table with three men and one woman. One of the guys looked to be on his fourth or fifth drink by now, so he wouldn't be a problem. The other two men were packing, so they could create a stir. She wasn't so sure about the woman, however. Dark brown eyes scanned the room, twitching from spot to spot. This woman's eyes were nervous, and she realized that it was the female at the table that was like a cat. She was quiet, soft, and easily scared. She was watching out for a dog.

The clock above the bar read 10:13. One minute, maybe 55 seconds was all the time she had. At 10:14, the phone call would be coming in, just as planned. He would answer, give the guy the numbers, the exchange would occur, and then he'd slip out of the bar without a second thought. No one would notice he was there, no one would notice that he had left. However, she wasn't going to let that happen.

Setting the purse on top of the bar, she pulled it open and began to dig inside of it. The bartender's eyes turned towards her, but she ignored it. Her hand wrapped around the little console and she watched the clock, counting to herself. _'Three... two... one.'_

Behind her, a phone died halfway through it's ring. "What the hell?" a voice boasted as chair legs screeched across the cold floor.

She pulled out a compact, checking herself in it, angling the mirror so that she could watch the group behind her. "My... my phone died," he stuttered out nervously, hitting at the buttons. "It won't come back on!"

"Just use mine," one of the other men said. He pulled his phone from his pocket, only to see the screen blank as well. "Huh? What the hell?"

"What is it?" the woman asked, eyes shifting between her companions.

"My phone's off two," the man conceded.

The other's checked their phones as well, one stating, "Something isn't right."

"Mine isn't working either."

The woman stood, her own chair screeching across the floor. "We're leaving. The deal's off."

"No, wait!" he yelled, desperation in his voice. "Please! Just... I'll use the bar phone. I can call him back. The phones are just glitching with something nearby. That's why the phones aren't working!"

"Mine works."

The group looked over at the lone figure sitting at the bar. She spun and turned to face them, holding her phone in the air. "You could use it, if you like."

Most of the company seemed apprehensive, but the dealer was desperate. "There! You see, we're fine. Everything's fine." He walked over to take the phone from the girl at the bar. "It'll only be a minute."

"Yepyep," she told him with a bright smile.

He reached for the phone as she held it out to him, but yelped as her hand grabbed his wrist instead. She dropped the phone and turned him around, twisting his wrist so he couldn't move, making him shriek. Guns were pulled from holsters in a flash. She aimed over his shoulder at the party at the table, the men now standing in front of the woman, protecting her. "No one's here for you badies," she told them. "Only here for this one."

They glared at her, guns still cocked and ready to shoot. "Then leave," the woman finally spoke.

The others turned to look at their companion warily. "Take the trash and get out of here... Cowgirl."

Another bright smile flashed from her lips. "Cowgirl cowgirl cowgirl. Taking another off to the slaughter house." She walked back towards the door, abandoning the purse she stole, never taking her gun off the crew.

The door swung closed after her, cries of protest coming from the bounty head in her grasp. The group inside the bar just stood there, clenching their jaws in annoyance, knowing they needed to find a new dealer. Beeps sounded around the room, and they all looked down at their phones. On the screens, a cartoon smile came began to flash, laughter ringing from their speakers.

--

Edward hummed a tune aimlessly as she sat in a small, vacant area. Her ship, Purple Lark Terinsky Faltrik Victor II, sat next to her lifelessly, asleep for the night. She ate her instant noodles and stared up at the sky, watching as stars twinkled above her. "Above? Or below? One will never know." She muttered the limerick to herself quietly, looking down at her noodles.

There was a bark from the cockpit of the ship. "Ein! Come for dinner!"

The Data Dog barked again and jumped out of the cockpit, landing on the wing before hopping down to the ground. "Good puppy," she told him, patting him as she pulled a can of dog food from her bag. She popped off the lid, setting it down for him to eat.

He barked appreciatively and began to eat his food. She watched him for a moment before plopping back, disregarding the half eaten cup of instant noodles. The only noise heard was the soft chomping of Ein's jaw as he ate.

Despite always being on the move, she liked the silence. She learned to enjoy just staying in one place, feeling the world move around you like you were dis-attached from it. There was no better feeling than being alone, by yourself, in your own little world. Never was she unhappy in this world that she created. Anything could happen if she wanted it to. It was more free than the virtual world she could adapt and change on the computer.

She felt as though she were drifting off, but didn't stop it. It was dark out, so sleep time would be coming soon anyways. There was no harm in getting an extra hour or so.

Images began dancing through her head. Bounties that she'd picked up, that she was hunting for, that hadn't even been released yet played across her vision. They read like advertisements, calling for her to go get them. Those visions began to fade, and she was suddenly swimming through the interweb, hacking into mainframes and having conversations with unspecified people who were plugged in as well. Memories of previous hacks started joining in as well. The time she met the weather satellite, the multiple times she hacked into ISSP, the day she joined the crew.

A smile drifted over her lips as images of her time on Bebop flooded her mind. She remembered no sad times from there. Some were frustrating, and at times the other members were sad, which made her upset, but she had never been sad when she was there.

Maybe that's why she left... she could go and not be sad anywhere else...

She had tried to go back. In fact, she had, but things weren't the same. They visited Earth about a year after she wandered away, and that's when they ran into each other again. She hugged them and hugged them as Ein barked away happily. She would have given anything to just join them again right there - travel through the stars with them. Faye, Jet, Spike-

Spike...

__

'No Spike...'

Her hand-com beeped. Her eyes opened. She dug through her bag groggily, almost asleep and pulled out the device. "Yes?" she grumbled after pressing the answer button, not looking at the monitor.

"Ed."

Ed's eyes shot open at the sound of the rough voice and she glanced over at the small screen. The corners of her lips tilted upwards at the bald, bearded man she saw. "Well Ein," she looked down at the dog, "it seems as though the devils at play."

--

"Bebop!" Ed screamed excitedly at the large ship as it flew overhead. The early morning sun gleamed off its sides and windows, reflecting back off her hacker goggles.

Ein barked at her angles, running around excitedly. Even though the Data Dog was over ten years old, he could still run around like a puppy.

The bulky ship dropped into the water of they bay they were meeting at, and she scrambled down the dock to meet them. She called out the ships name once more as she neared it, her legs pushing her faster. They had become nicely defined with muscle as she grew up, always walking or running to get from place to place.

She picked up Ein and gently tossed him onto the deck, making sure to be careful, and leapt the distance from the dock to the ship herself. She stopped and looked around. The deck was empty and nothing had changed, but she liked that. Even if she were the one who left, she missed this place. It just felt... familiar.

The hanger door pulled up and Ed spun to see Faye standing there, placing her goggles around her neck. "Faye-Faye!" she called excitedly, racing to meet her old friend. Faye smiled at what Ed had called her. Even after she grew up and acted more normal, she never stopped using that nickname on her.

The girl hugged her tightly, making Faye laugh. "Not so hard!" she said, returning the hug. The two released after a moment. "How have you been?"

"Good. Thanks for asking," Ed said with a bright smile. "Why the sudden visit?"

She paused. "Just wanted to say hello," she finally said, nodding her head.

Ed didn't buy it. Her brow furrowed and she gazed at Faye unbelievingly. It wasn't that they didn't just visit every once in a while, but the way she said it gave her away. There was something that she wasn't saying. "No you didn't."

Faye sighed at Ed's response. "What, we aren't allowed to say hi anymore?"

Ed opened her mouth to say something else, but the door that led into the living quarters of the ship opened and Jet walked into the hanger. "Jet!" she cried excitedly, forgetting Faye as she raced to hug her long-time father figure.

Jet laughed merrily as Ed through her arms around her, returning the hug happily. "It's so good to see you again Ed," he told her. "Though I can see that you're still skin and bones."

"I'm a skinny girl," she shrugged it off. "Why'd you guys come here?" she asked him.

Faye huffed in the background.

"Just wanted to say hi." Ed opened her mouth to repeat what she had said earlier, but Jet moved on. "Sorry about last night, by the way. I didn't think you'd be in bed already. Did you sleep okay?"

No.

She'd dreamt about him again. She couldn't stop. Every other night she would have a dream about him and it frustrated her to no end. Most commonly she would dream of him in a crowd, just looking at her before walking away. She would try to run to him, to catch him, but she couldn't. No matter what she did, he would always get away before she could reach him.

She hated dreaming about him. What was the point to it? She had known him for maybe a year of her life, and he wasn't very warm or friendly when she was on Bebop. She left before he died, and didn't know for almost a year after it happened. Maybe it was because she never got to say goodbye. Never had she reached him to say goodbye in her dreams, either. But then, why had it only been over the last few months that they were getting so frequent? Why now, almost a decade after his death?

Her head throbbed and chest tightened every time she revisited her dreams, so she decided not to think or talk about it. The others didn't need to know that she thought about him this much.

"I slept well," she told him with a smile. She didn't falter in her lie at all, despite how the other two had.

"Well good then, let's go inside," Jet said, ushering the two in before closing the door.

"Have you eaten yet?" Faye asked as they walked down the corridor towards the common room and kitchen.

"I was just about to make breakfast," Jet told her.

"Oh, breakfast sounds great," she told them with a bright smile. "I haven't really eaten in a while. I had some noodles that I bought at a vendor yesterday, but that was really it." She turned around as she talked to them, walking backwards through the hallway. "I ate lunch and dinner the day before though, so it hasn't been that long. I've definitely gone longer. I just-"

"Edward."

She froze. That voice... No... _'No Spike.'_

The others stared at her blankly, as though analyzing her. This is what Faye had been hiding.

But it couldn't be! He was dead! Spike was dead! _'No Spike,'_ her mind demanded as she clenched her jaw.

"Edward," the voice said again, and slowly she turned.

"Spike."

**AN: **Alright, so that's the beginning of my first Cowboy Bebop fanfiction:D I hope you liked it, and that I got Ed's character down. I want her to still be quirky, but she's grown up now, so she's sorta normal now. Lol. Anyway, please tell me what you think:D

kagomes-wanna-be

Go, be merry, and review.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Hey guys! Thanks for the... well... one great review:P I'd really appreciate it if you could pick it up! Thanks!

**Back in the Saddle Again**

**kagomes-wanna-be**

**Chapter Two:  
****Ghost**

Spike sat on the old yellow couch. He stared around the empty, familiar cabin of the Bebop. It felt so normal to be there, but still so different. It was too empty. Faye wasn't lounging about on the staircase, Jet wasn't burning anything in the kitchen or attending to his prized Bonzais, Ein wasn't panting at his feet, and Ed wasn't sitting in a corner somewhere, her arms flying about her as she swam through cyber-space.

It felt odd, though, that those would be his memories he held familiar to this place. In all the time he had spent on Bebop, most of it had been only Jet and him. But that life he had... they had... it was all he could remember of his time there, even if Ed and Ein had left towards the end of it.

As he continued to ponder, he finally decided that these memories being so front and foremost in his mind could be attributed to the fact that they were so unfamiliar. He had spent most of his life fighting people, chasing after them and searching for them. When it was just Jet and him, that's how it was. Then, when all the other showed up, it changed. Life wasn't about hunting anymore, it was about the people.

He felt a burning sensation build in his chest. He groaned and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. _'I think I made a big mistake.'_

The door to the hanger slid open down the hall and he stood. Voices flooded through metal, cylinder shaped hallways. He recognized two of them, but the last one he couldn't. It sounded familiar, but... strange.

"Ed's different now," Faye had warned him the night before. "The rest of us got older, but she actually grew up."

It had to be her, he realized. He heard a bark echo down the hall and knew it was her. Only Ein barked like that.

The group walked out of the shadows of the hallway and into the common room. They were right - she was different. Her back was to him, but he could see that she had grown by good 5 inches, and her once, wild hair had grown longer and calmed down a bit, but it was still as bright and disheveled as ever. He smirked gently, mentally noting that she hadn't changed too much if she was still walking backwards.

"Edward."

He said it more to himself than anyone. He wanted to make sure it was true. They were all there again.

Jet and Fare just stared at her. Her shoulders tensed. She wasn't turning to face him. His brow knitted together in confusion. Why wasn't she looking at him?

"Edward," he said once more, trying to get her attention.

It took a second, and though it seemed like she was fighting it, she turned to face him.

"Spike."

He froze. He was caught by piercing gold eyes that wouldn't let him go. They bore into his own, trying to decipher him, screaming silent questions. He should've said something. He should've said anything. But her gaze wouldn't let him. What had happened to Edward?

Jet and Faye looked at each other with concern, slightly nodding their heads. "Here, Ed, why don't you take a seat while Jet and I go get started on breakfast." Faye gently took hold of her arm, leading her towards the chair across from Spike.

"You don't cook," Edward stated blandly, her eyes never leaving Spike.

Faye's face twisted up and she huffed. "I do now." She pushed Ed down into the chair and turned, walking into the kitchen with Jet.

The door slid closed, and there was nothing but silence between the two. Eventually, Ed let her eyes leave Spike's face, traveling over his body to make sure he was really there. He was, though his outfit consisted of jeans and a dress shirt. She wondered if Jet and Faye had kept any of his old clothes.

Spike's eyes, however, were gazing over her for a different reason. _'This can't be Ed,' _he thought skeptically. His eyes fell upon long, toned legs, which attached to feminine hips and a tight waist. His eyes moved up a fraction but he quickly moved them away, feeling weird for gazing at her like this. _'She's a... a... woman.'_

He didn't want to look anymore. He didn't want to believe that she had changed this much, but his mind worked of its own volition. His eyes returned to her, this time taking in more subtle details. Her body was very lean, still, he realized. She didn't have an overly curvy frame like Faye or even Julia. It was straight and lean, like it had always been, but feminine enough to make a man stare. Her outfit had changed, but it still screamed Edward. She wore black shorts, but they were baggier than they used to be, rolled up from knee-length to mid thigh and clipped with two safety pins. She actually wore shoes, with knee-high socks that were surprisingly white. Her shirt was a simple white tank top with a blue dress vest over it, which looked as though it had once been long sleeved but the sleeves had been torn off, exposing her toned, skinny arms. He noted that she was still as skinny as ever, but she didn't look unhealthy, which was good.

His eyes moved upwards, following the line of her long neck, which had her old hacker goggles around it. He looked at her face, framed by the long bangs of her orange-red hair. Her face was wide with high cheekbones and nicely lined lips that he knew held a bright, beautiful smile behind them. Thick lashed curled around her burning eyes. Tan as ever skin gave way to the natural pink blush of her cheeks. He was staring, he knew it, but he couldn't help it. There was so much to take in.

"You don't have to stare." Spike jumped as he heard her voice, his eyes shooting back up to meet hers.

"Oh, uh.. mhm." He gave a curt nod and fell silent again. He was at a loss for words. Spike was NEVER at a loss for words. He was trying to come up with something to say. ANYTHING to say. What could he say?

"So you're a Cowgirl now." It wasn't a question and he felt ridiculous. He was only repeating things that Faye had told him last night.

"Yep," she said, nodding her head gently as she looked down at the table. "For a couple of years now. Even got my own ship." She smiled, trying to make everything seem alright, though she felt like nothing was.

Spike smiled at her smile. It was just like he thought it would be. "Do you think you like it better than just sitting behind your computer all day."

"Well I still do that."

He waited for more, but she didn't say anything. "Oh."

"But it's kinda fun to be out in the field. Getting some action."

Spike cursed his mind as it jumped to conclusions, knowing that isn't what she meant. "That's good. I'm glad you like it." They sat there in silence for another moment. "You're being safe, right?"

"Of course," she assured him, smiling again gently, though it looked a little forced. "I learned from the best, Spike."

For the first time that day, he realized that it wasn't just her looks that had changed. She wasn't speaking in the third person anymore, and she had even said his name without following it with "-guy" or "-person." Everything she was doing seemed more normal. She was sitting still with both feet on the ground, she wasn't hunched over like he thought she might end up thanks to staring at her PC for hours upon hours, and she was managing to hold an entire conversation without drifting off to another topic. She was more different than he could've imagined - not that he had ever bothered to think about a grown up Ed.

"Do you have a partner?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation growing.

Her jaw clenched. She knew where he was going, but she didn't want him to. She didn't even want him here. "No."

Spike's mouth opened, but quickly closed again. The gentle sound of claws on the metal floor caught his attention and he looked down to see Ein slowly creeping towards him. He raised an eyebrow and put his hand down for the dog to smell. Ein pressed his nose against Spike's palm, sniffing at it cautiously. It took a minute, but the dog finally sat back to gaze up at Spike's face. Ein barked, his tail wagging to show his happiness, glad to see an old friend.

Spike chuckled and patted the dogs head gently. He was relieved that the dog still remembered him. "Glad to see you, too," he said. He turned his attention back to Ed, who was just sitting there watching the two of them. He cleared his throat, trying to get back to what they were talking about. "Have you ever thought about getting one? A partner, I mean."

"Not really." Her voice was strained.

"Well..." he trailed off, his eyes gazing at the table for a moment before looking back up at her. "Why don't you rejoin the Bebop?"

Her eyes closed for a second. Her hands curled into fists, and he saw the muscles in her arms tense. "I don't think so."

"But-"

The door to the kitchen opened and Faye walked out. "Breakfast is almost ready," she said. She stopped and looked between the two, noticing the tension in the air. "Whoa, what happened?" Jet walked up behind her once he heard the ting in her voice.

"I have to go," Ed said suddenly, standing up.

"What? But you just got here!" Jet said, casting a glance over at Spike. He knew it had to be about him.

"I'm sorry."

She turned to leave. Ein looked up at Spike for a second, letting out a bark before turning and running after Edward.

Spike stood suddenly. "Edward, wait."

She stopped, but didn't say anything.

"Won't you at least think about it?"

"No," she said over her shoulder.

"Why not?"

She spun to face him. "Because Spike is dead!" she called out. Silence filled the room. No one knew what to say. Ed looked around at everyone's shocked faces, her stomach churning. "And Ed doesn't believe in ghosts."

She turned and left.

**AN: **Eh, it was kinda short, but I liked it. You get to learn more about how Ed is now that she's grown up:D Please review!

kagomes-wanna-be

Go, be merry, and review.


	3. Chapter 3

**REVISED.**

**AN: **AH! AHHH!!! Sooooo long! I'm sorry that this took me forever to update. I'm just having a harder and harder time updating my fanfictions. I'm slowly becoming more and more mainstream. Good? Bad? I'm not sure. I'll try not to neglect this story so much anymore! I really, really do like it:) You guys could always show me how much you like it and review, you know;)

**Back in the Saddle Again**

**kagomes-wanna-be**

**Chapter Three:  
Bounty**

Ed flew her and Ein out of there as fast as possible. She didn't want to be anywhere near the Bebop anymore. Her memories were crushed, replaced by anger and confusion. She was so angry she could scream.

Why did he have that control over her? She hadn't spoken like that in years, but the second he shows up it's like she's 13 again - like things had never changed. But everything had changed.

How could he be back? He had been dead for ten years. She had been to his grave! She just didn't want to believe it. So long she had accepted it. So long she had known. Everything was different now.

And it was his fault. Why did he have to come back? He could have just stayed gone, even if he was alive. Surely he must have realized the affect this would have had on people; that peoples' entire lives and outlooks would now be different.

She did barrel rolls and loop-de-loops as she flew through the atmosphere. There had to be some place she could go.

Mars.

She could go to Mars. There was always something to do on Mars; something to keep her mind preoccupied.

It was decided. She would go to Mars, and she would forget about the Bebop.

--

Spike stood in a state of shock. His mouth hung open and his body rested lurched forward, as though to chase after her, but he never got the chance. She was gone too fast for any of them to react.

"Jesus Spike, what the hell did you do?" Faye gaped at him.

He shook his head and finally came out of his episode. "I… I don't know."

Jet plopped down on the couch with a sigh. "Well, obviously you did something."

"I didn't do anything!" he insisted.

"Just got back and you're already pissing people off. Good job," Faye spat, sitting next to Jet.

"But I didn't do anything!"

"Alright. Alright, we understand," Jet tried to calm them down. "You may not have meant to do anything, but apparently you did."

Spike groaned and fell back onto the couch. "Not that I meant to."

"That's a first."

"Faye." Jet gave her a stern look and she shrugged. She crossed her arms and looked away.

Spike stared at the ceiling, his head leaning back against the couch. He was trying to make sense of it all, but he couldn't. The anger in her eyes had been so intense. He couldn't think of anything he'd done to make her that angry. The only thing he'd done was ask if she wanted to join Bebop again, and she could've just said no to that if she'd wanted. He had spent an awfully long time looking her over and taking in her new appearance. Maybe she didn't like being stared at…

"Spike!"

"What!?" He cried as Faye yelled his name.

"We've been trying to get your attention," Jet told him.

"Oh… Sorry," he muttered, looking at the ground.

"What were you thinking about?" Jet asked.

Spike didn't answer for a moment. He wanted to get off the topic of what they'd talked about. "Just about how everything's changed," he lied, though it wasn't completely untrue. "I really missed a lot."

Jet chuckled, saying, "Nothing we didn't miss as well."

Spike looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"He means that we weren't there for it, either. We didn't see her grow up except for short meetings every now and then. Hell, we didn't even know she was a cowgirl until we ran into her on the same bounty," Faye explained. "And as far as Bebop… Well, nothing's changed here, really."

"You guys have changed," he pointed out. "Jet doesn't even catch bounties anymore."

"Those are but the minor details, my friend," Jet explained. "I'm still the same as ever."

"Fine, you're the same as ever," Spike humored him.

"Can we please get off this God forsaken rock, already?" Faye interrupted.

"Yeah, it seems about time to head out." Jet stood up and cracked his back. "Besides, I'm sure Spike is still in the right shape to catch some bounties."

Spike looked up at him. Jet smiled.

"We've still got Swordfish in the hanger. It hasn't been flown in a while, but I'm sure it's still usable."

A slow smirk came across Spike's face as he thought about hunting again. "Sounds like a plan."

Jet walked to the piloting room as Faye went to eat the forgotten breakfast. Spike stayed on the couch. He reached over and turned on the console, waiting for Big Shot.

--

"You cheated!"

"Nuh-uh!" Ed said, grabbing the pile of coins from the table.

The man reached over and grabbed her wrist. "Then how the hell do you get three sevens in a row?"

Ed stared down at the man's hand gripping her wrist. Her jaw clenched and she looked up at him. "You should move your hand."

"Or what?" the man asked with a sneer.

Ed reached into her vest with her free hand and pulled her gun from its holster, cocked it and placed the barrel against the man's wrist in one motion. He stared at the gun in shock. His arm trembled.

"Or you're going to lose it."

His eyes flickered to Edward's and he quickly let go, reeling back in fear.

"Thank you," she said, putting the gun away. She collected her coins and tipped her head to the men at the table. "Have a good night."

They watched her as she walked out of the old, decrepit deli. She looked up and down the street. People filed by; some headed to work, others looking for local casinos. She tried to spy the bounty head amongst the crowd, but he wasn't there. She crossed the street and took a seat at a table outside of a café. This street was one of his hotspots, so she was sure he'd show up eventually.

Joseph Vit was a member of the regrouping Syndicate. He was a high profile drug dealer who used to bring in a lot of pay before the group disbanded. The majority of the members were angry when the Syndicate fell apart, but Vit had no reason to be. He now had all the information to the direct source of his product and didn't have to share profits with anyone. For Joseph Vit, life was good.

Until today. Today, life was good for Ed. 300,000 woolongs good.

A bright blonde head of hair bobbed through the crowd. Ed sat taller as she watched the sun kissed locks, waiting for the face to reveal itself. Joseph Vit came into view through the dense crowd, and Ed was moving.

She slipped between the faceless people around her that all crammed down the street. It had gotten considerably more busy since she first sat down at the café table an hour ago, and her height put her at a disadvantage. But she was fast, and she used that to keep the man in sight.

Pulling her gun from it's holster in her vest, she moved in on him. He had no guard, he had no partners, and the large amount of people would keep him from getting away if he got out of her grip. She would take him down in the middle of this crowd.

She closed in on him quickly. She was just in reach of him. Her hand shot out and grabbed his arm as the barrel of her gun pressed to his head.

"Don't move!"

Ed froze. She wasn't the only one who had spoken.

She gazed around the man and her eyes widened.

"Spike!?"

"Ed!? What the hell!?" Spike stared back at her in the same shocked fashion.

The man between them raised his trembling hands into the air. "D-Don't shoot," he stuttered, both of their guns pressed to either side of his head.

"Shut up," Spike growled before looking back at Ed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What does it look like?" she snapped. "I'm collecting my bounty head.

He chortled a laugh. "Your bounty head?"

Her eyes squinted into a glare. "What the hell does it look like he is? My boyfriend?"

"I would certainly hope not. But how am I supposed to know? You didn't stick around long enough to say anything but goodbye."

"That's not fair!"

"Y-You guys aren't together?" Vit asked as he stared between the two in fear.

"We said shut up!" Ed yelled. He whimpered as she pressed the barrel of her gun harder against his head.

She turned her attention back to Spike.

"Let go, Ed. He's mine," Spike growled.

"Spike should let go. I had him first," Ed retorted.

"Like hell. Besides, I'm stronger. I could just pull him away from you," Spike pointed out.

"I could put a bullet through his head. No bounty for a dead head!"

"Then you wouldn't get the bounty either!"

Ed seemed to think about that for a moment, her bottom lip pressing out as she stood there. "Fine," she conceded.

Spike jumped as she pulled her gun from Vit's head and aimed it at his.

"Could shoot you. No harm to the dead!"

Spike's gun quickly aimed at Ed in defense. "Ed! You're being ridiculous! I'm not dead!"

"Ten years! Ten years dead!" she cried.

"If we could just talk I could explain what happened!" Spike cried back in frustration. "Just come back to the Bebop and I'll tell you everything that-"

He cut off as his eyes flicked away from her. "Shit!" he cursed loudly and took off running.

Ed stood there in shock as he suddenly disappeared. And then she realized why. With a quick muttering she took off after him and their forgotten bounty, who had slipped away into the crowd.

She followed Spike through the crowd, but they didn't have to go far. She nearly crashed into his back as he came to a sudden halt at the edge of the crowd. Pushing her way past him, she stopped as she saw what the crowd was focused on now: Faye tying the hands of Joseph Vit.

Faye pulled up the dealer by his hands and looked towards the two of them. "See, Spike. Told ya I'd get the bounty," she said triumphantly.

Ed stared dejectedly as some of the crowd sniggered at her and Spike. They had all seen them lose their bounty to their petty fight.

"Ed?" Faye asked once she finally saw her, but Ed didn't answer.

She holstered her gun and turned into the crowd. She began walking away as a hand grabbed her arm.

"Ed, wait."

She sighed, but didn't turn around.

"Look," Spike continued, "just come back to Bebop. I'll tell you whatever you want to know. I'm not a ghost, and you can't treat me like one."

Ed couldn't look back at him. Her hands began to tremble and she clenched them tightly. She didn't want to know what had happened to him. She had made piece with his death years ago, and she didn't need anything to inflame her recent obsession anymore. It just needed time to pass. How could it pass if her obsession was always with her?

"Ed?"

His voice was so soothing to hear after all this time. She thought she'd never hear it again. She quickly realized that her resolve had already dissipated. She just needed to give in.

"Fine," she answered. She turned back to him. "Bebop."

**AN: **And that's what you get when you get two very triggerhappy people who are very angry at each other:) I think this chapter was kind of short, but it was a good chapter. I wanted them to work out their frustrations a little. Now everyone can be more civilized, no? Hope you liked it:)

Go, be merry, and review.

kagomes-wanna-be


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